10.05.2024

Sluggish start for Palfinger

Austrian loader crane and aerial lift manufacturer Palfinger, has released its first quarter results.

Revenues
The company saw total revenues fall 2.2 percent to €578.5 million, thanks to lower order intake in Europe, partly offset by improvements in North America and Asia/Pacific. As a result, the order book/backlog at the end of March was almost 22 percent lower than this time last year, at €1.16 billion.

The revenues were broken down as follows:
Europe, Middle East & Africa - 62% = €358.67 million
North America - 24% = €138.84 million
South and Central America - 4% = €23.14 million
CIS countries - 5% = €28.92 million
Asia Pacific - 5% = €28.92 million

In the European region, economic and other disruptive events, led to lower order intake, particularly in the core markets of Germany, France and Scandinavia. Conversely Southern Europe, particularly Spain and Portugal provided some offset, apparently driven by strong tourism and infrastructure projects.

The greatest growth came from North America where increased production of service cranes and vehicle mounted aerial work platforms provided a boost to revenues and the bottom line.

Asia Pacific saw strong demand driven by loader cranes in India, which helped lift the region as a whole, while the Chinese market remained flat.

The company also reports that its Marine division grew positively - up 30 percent - with strong order intake from offshore wind farm projects in Japan and Taiwan, as well as growth in the servicing of cruise ships and offshore and marine cranes. Order intake has remained strong in the second quarter.

Pre-tax profits were a bright spot in what was otherwise mixed news, they were almost four percent higher at €44.8 million. Net Debt was slightly higher than last year as €698.8 million

Chief executive Andreas Klauser said: “We manage challenges proactively, flexible and fast. Thanks to our broad product portfolio and our focus on growth regions such as North America, but also the Marine sector, we secure resilience even in difficult times.”

Full year outlook

Palfinger expects ongoing profitable growth in North America, Asia Pacific and Marine cranes, while in Europe production has been reduced, with the almost certain result that full year revenues and operating profit will come in below that achieved in 2023. In spite of this the company is maintaining its target to achieve revenues of €3 billion by 2027.

Vertikal Comment

Not a great set of numbers from Palfinger, with Europe, Africa and the Middle East taking most of the blame due to a slower economy and greater uncertainty. While there is something to this Palfinger is not exactly functioning at its usual peak levels. There is much more it could be doing in the aerial lift business, for example, particularly at the top and bottom end of the market. Its overall brand marketing efforts seem to have gone off the boil a little and is perhaps being outgunned by Hiab which appears to be trying harder?

Having said all that, the company remains the loader crane market leader with a top class product range, a strong brand and a good dealer network. The company has grown phenomenally over recent years, so perhaps it is understandable if it takes a breather?

You cannot judge by one quarter alone, however.